Cold winters no more?

Receive the latest stories updates in your inbox

Only 3 Winter Months Have Been Colder Than Average In the Past 5 Years

High heating bills, broken pipes, cars that won't start and frostbitten noses can all be part of a Washington winter. For the past five years however Washingtonians have caught a bit of a break from old man winter.

The last great snowstorm to hit the region came six years ago: the President's Day storm of 2003. Since then, we've had 5 winters in a row with below-average snowfall and above-average temperatures.

The graphic shows the average monthly temperatures for each of the last five winters compared to average. Remember, only December, January and February are officially considered "winter" months. This January was colder than average as was December 2005 and February 2007. Every other winter month has been warmer than average with some as much as 8 degrees warmer than average.

We will keep you posted as the beginning of "spring" is just around the corner, but it looks as though March will be coming in like a lion so keep your coats handy.